Beth Dieter with a photo of her son ,Scott, who was murdered last year. She has established a scholarship for camp counselors in his name at the Camp Ernst YMCA Camp. / The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy

Written by

Janice Morse

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP

YMCA Camp Ernst is a 360-acre residential camp in Burlington, Ky., open to children ages 6 to 15 for one-week summer sessions. Through the Scott C. Dieter Memorial Scholarship Fund, announced this month, two counselors, one male and one female, will each be awarded a $1,500 college scholarship. The annual award is intended to be funded in perpetuity – forever – thanks to an endowment. Application deadline is Nov. 30; the first winners will be announced in January. For information, visit www.myycamp.org/memorial-scholarship-fund or call 859-586-6181.

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BURLINGTON — Beth Dieter envisioned her son growing up to become a counselor at YMCA Camp Ernst, one of his most cherished spots. Then he’d go to college and become an engineer like his dad.

But fate rendered those dreams impossible: A year ago this month, her son and his father fell victim to a gunman who fatally shot seven people as the Dieters, then living in Richwood, visited relatives in northeastern Ohio. Police killed the gunman.

Before 11-year-old Scott Dieter was killed on Aug. 7, 2011, he had delighted in five consecutive summer stints at Camp Ernst. His days there were among the happiest of his young life, his mom says.

After each week-long session ended, “I would pick him up and he would say, right away: ‘We need to remember to sign up for next year,’ ” said Beth Dieter, who now lives in Walton.

Dieter’s dual purpose: To honor the memory of her son and to provide an incentive for top-notch counselors to continue the good work that leaves lasting impressions on young lives.

“The biggest impact that Scott got here was from the counselors,’’ Dieter said in an interview last week. “I want to encourage those who really are standouts, working with youths, to continue.”

It was the first time she set foot on the campground since her son’s death.

During his 2011 stay at Camp Ernst, Scott attended dinner with the camp director, Eli Cochran – a perk extended to all campers who have attended for five years, along with an extra-sinful dessert. Cochran recalls Scott telling her that he was having a great time at camp and in particular was enjoying archery – and admired his counselors.

Camp life appealed to Scott largely because from a very early age all he wanted to do was be outdoors, his mom said. “It could be raining, it could be snowing, it could be blazing-hot – he played outside,” Dieter said. “We went through four bikes in his lifetime. His scooter was held together with duct tape.”

The camp truly enriched her son’s life, Dieter said.

“Scott’s an only child, and I think it meant a lot to him to come and be around older boys and young men and have that opportunity to experience their leadership and their friendship and their guidance,” she said. “He would always come back with more self-confidence … a little more independent.”

Dieter says counselors probably influence campers’ lives more than they realize. As a para-educator for special education students at Burlington Elementary School, Dieter sees first-hand how younger children model behavior of older ones. And, since Dieter had once served as a camp counselor in the Columbus area, she knows they earn little money. That was one impetus for offering a scholarship to counselors.

Typically, a camp counselor is paid less than $200 per week; they may work five to 10 weeks during the summer, Cochran said.

Because of the low pay, some excellent counselors leave in favor of higher-paying jobs to pay for tuition and other college expenses, Cochran said.

Dieter declined to discuss how she is coping with the aftermath of last year’s incident that left Scott and her husband, Craig, 51, dead in Copley Township near Akron.

“We still don’t know for sure” what caused the gunman to open fire, Police Chief Michael Mier told The Enquirer in an interview on Wednesday. The chief said he and investigators are still pursuing some possible answers to that question. The incident is believed to be the worst mass shooting in Summit County history, Mier said.

Neighbors said they suspected the violence arose from a dispute about upkeep of a home where the gunman stayed with his girlfriend, Rebecca Dieter. She is Craig Dieter’s sister and Scott’s aunt; she survived multiple gunshots. Beth Dieter was unharmed.

In silent testimonials to her losses, Beth Dieter wears a neck chain bearing her husband’s wedding ring and a gold heart-shaped locket – a Mother’s Day gift from her son when he was 3.

Her husband had been a Boy Scout master and worked as a plant engineer at Rock Tenn, a consumer packaging company with Cincinnati-area locations. Father and son were a lot alike, she said. Both were fascinated by “how things worked,” Dieter said, so her son almost certainly would have become an engineer.

She’s now working on a project to memorialize her husband after spending months on the scholarship project.

“I think it will only help to continue the excellence at this camp,” which has been in existence since 1928, Dieter said. “I want to make sure that they continue that tradition by attracting really, really good counselors.”